Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 215 – Ten Heavenly Tribulations

But wasn’t it said that Junior Uncle was also a Nascent Soul? Then how was he crossing tribulation now? Or, could it be that he made another breakthrough?

Countless people leapt up in fright, but soon comforted themselves and told themselves not to think so haphazardly. This was definitely not a possibility.

Daoist Wang frowned. He turned and said, “This heavenly tribulation is a bit strange!”

Jiang Li’s eyes narrowed. “Something isn’t right.”

Eclipse Lenqing and Eclipse Wuji couldn’t be said to be on good terms with Qin Yu. When they heard that he had reached Nascent Soul, they had felt personally attacked, as if this were a major blow to them. But as they saw this scene today, they felt some joy in their hearts, some comfort, as well as some confusion.

“This aura is undoubtedly Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation, but it isn’t complete...” Eclipse Wuji slowly said, “It appears as if it only possesses a part of the heavenly tribulation attribute.”

This summarization was accurate and precise. Daoist Wang clapped his hands, “That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m feeling.” He looked up at the black cloud and muttered, “This brat, he causes too much trouble. Anything he does just becomes an abnormal mess.”

Gu Ling’er stood in the crowd, somewhat happy as she saw that nothing had happened to her Big Brother Qin Yu. But, as she watched the gathering black clouds, she couldn’t help but be worried that some accident would occur during this heavenly tribulation.

As if feeling her worries, without any notice, the tribulation clouds in the sky began to dissipate at a rapid pace. In maybe just several breaths of time, they thoroughly vanished from sight.

Like this, four great Nascent Souls and everyone else was left in a stunned daze. They had only ever heard of heavenly tribulation descending, and had never heard of a situation where heavenly tribulation appeared and then vanished.

Please tell, was this crossing tribulation? To cultivators, this was a very solemn and sacred event, a test which their lives hung upon. But right now why did it feel a bit playful? When could heavenly tribulation be played around with like this?

Eclipse Lenqing and Eclipse Wuji were left speechless. Daoist Wang and Jiang Li revealed a thoughtful look. They knew about Qin Yu swallowing heavenly tribulation, so what occurred in front of them right now wasn’t much at all.

The heavenly tribulation disappeared and the Golden Cores glanced at each other. They sighed inwardly, thinking that their Junior Uncle Qin was truly an extraordinary person. But at the same time, they also thought about what happened and how there had been such a strong start that fizzled out in a weak ending. Then they thought, Junior Uncle, wasn’t this a bit too embarrassing?

Jiang Li swept his eyes around. He said, “Enough. Since there is nothing wrong, you should all disperse.”

The Golden Cores wondered just how could there be nothing wrong? But even though this thought appeared in their minds, no one dared to speak it out loud. They all bowed and retreated.

Eclipse Lenqing coldly frowned. His intuition told him that Jiang Li and Daoist Wang surely knew of something. He thought for a moment then asked, “Do you two know what is happening?”

Daoist Wang laughed out loud. “Eclipse Lenqing, you must be joking around. We are all standing over here, so how could we know what is happening over there? If you are so curious as to what Qin Yu is doing, then you can ask him when he comes out.”

Eclipse Lenqing’s complexion sank. Although he didn’t mind dealing with Qin Yu, there was no way he would speak to him on his own initiative. He coldly snorted and turned to leave.

Daoist Wang curled his lips. “Just what sort of person is he? I just offered some advice to him, and it's fine if he doesn’t appreciate it, but why does he have to put on such a smelly face when he leaves? It's not like I owe him anything.”

Eclipse Wuji revealed a helpless look. He cupped his hands across his chest and turned to leave.

“Hey, they’ve already left, so how about we go in and take a look?” Daoist Wang winked and then coughed. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I’m curious or anything, I just want to make sure that nothing happened to Qin Yu.”

Jiang Li thought for a moment and nodded. “Then let’s go and take a look.”

Gu Ling’er bit her lips. “Seniors, can you bring me with you?”

Jiang Li furrowed his eyebrows. “You must stay close to me, lest you are contaminated by pill toxins.”

Facing Jiang Li and Daoist Wang, Cao Han naturally didn’t dare to stop them. He respectfully drew to the side.

Gu Ling’er nervously followed behind Jiang Li as they stepped into the Pill Disposal Department.

The surroundings suddenly changed, and a barren land of deathly stillness appeared. A light sword intent spread out and wrapped around her, twisting and eliminating all the approaching pill toxins.

“Cough cough...you came.” Qin Yu sat on a stone boulder, his face white. As he saw Gu Ling’er, he revealed a warm smile. “Why did you come here? It’s too dangerous for you.”

Gu Ling’er looked at the corner of his mouth and the blood that had yet to be wiped away. Her eyes instantly reddened and she covered her mouth, “Big Brother Qin Yu, you...what happened?”

Qin Yu smiled. “It’s alright. I experienced a small accident during my cultivation. Don’t cry, don’t cry, my body is quite good and this tiny wound will soon heal.”

Jiang Li gazed deeply at Qin Yu, and there seemed to be a faint tremble in his eyes. He had clearly already realized some things. He said, “If you want to heal yourself, then leave here first.”

Qin Yu didn’t refuse. “Alright.” He walked forwards and wiped away Gu Ling’er’s tears. “Let’s leave. Why are you still crying? Aren’t you afraid that others will laugh at you?”

Gu Ling’er forced out a smile and reached out to help support him. Qin Yu smiled and went along with it; at least she would feel more at ease doing this.

Cao Han hurried forth to greet them. He was also quite shaken about Junior Uncle being wounded.

Without delay, after leaving, the group went directly to Little Bamboo Grove. This was a gorgeous and peaceful environment, and it was also a good training area.

After speaking some words, he made an excuse that he wanted to eat some porridge and sent Gu Ling’er out. Qin Yu then fell onto a bed and said, “If you want to ask then ask away. You look like you’re sick from holding it in.”

Daoist Wang impatiently asked. “You haven’t broken through to Nascent Soul?”

Qin Yu nodded.

This simple and honest reply caused his eyes to pop open and his lips to twitch. His expression became even stranger to behold.

At Snowfall City, they had witnessed Qin Yu fight in direct combat against Liu Zhi.

But now you are saying that you haven’t crossed tribulation and broken through to Nascent Soul? It would be nice if this were a joke, but the key point was that it was actually true!

Jiang Li’s eyes brightened. “Is it the Five Element Sword Diagram?”

Since he had already acknowledged it, there was no point in hiding it any further. Qin Yu nodded again. Of course, he didn’t explain the exact details, but the two old men knew discretion and although they were curious, they didn’t probe further. Still, what they learned was enough to shock them.

He was still at the Golden Core realm and yet he could contend against the all-out strike of a middle Nascent Soul. They wondered, once Qin Yu broke into Nascent Soul, just how fierce would he become? Perhaps looking through the entire world, only super powerhouses like the Valley Master or Demon Monarch would be worthy opponents for him.

They continued to think further. Once Qin Yu’s cultivation reached the middle Nascent Soul realm or even the late phase, just who in the world would be his match? This brat, he was far too horrifying!

Qin Yu bitterly smiled. “In this world, there are gains and losses. The difficulty of me breaking into Nascent Soul is over ten times more difficult than it would be for an ordinary cultivator. You don’t have to overthink this.”

Only upon hearing this did Daoist Wang and Jiang Li think that the world was a bit more normal.

“You brat...it’s about time you encounter some difficulties, or how else do you expect ordinary cultivators like us to live!” Daoist Wang was filled with righteous indignation.

To force a Nascent Soul to refer to themselves as an ordinary cultivator, the only one who could do this was Qin Yu!

Jiang Li simply stated. “If it is because of the Five Element Sword Diagram, then I might be able to help you. If you have need of any assistance, come and look for me.”

Qin Yu smiled and nodded.

“Alright, we won’t disturb you any more. Rest well and recuperate.”

Jiang Li and Daoist Wang rose up and bid their farewells.

Soon after, Gu Ling’er returned, carrying a bowl of fragrant porridge. It definitely didn’t take long to cook porridge, but she had waited for the two old men to leave before she went in. After all, she was an extremely intelligent young girl, so how could she not be aware of how to follow social cues?

Three days later.

Qin Yu allowed Gu Ling’er to carefully inspect him. He even restrained his magic power to allow her weak magic power to enter his body and investigate his condition, verifying that he wasn’t injured any longer.

Once Gu Ling’er closed her mouth and took back her magic power, Qin Yu smiled. “How about it? I haven’t lied at all. My injuries are already healed, so I am going back to cultivate.”

Gu Ling’er was surprised, but the ones who were even more surprised were Daoist Wang and Jiang Li. As Nascent Soul cultivators, they naturally knew how unusual Qin Yu’s injuries were.

If others were able to barely recover in a month, that would already be a good result. But what about him? From start to end it only took three days!

Daoist Wang mumbled beneath his breath, “This brat, he is simply a freak of nature!”

This time, Jiang Li agreed with a rare nod.

In order to refine the Five Element Sword Diagram and accommodate so much more magic power, it was normal for Qin Yu’s body to be extremely sturdy. But, the more potent the body was the more troublesome it was to recover from injuries. The freak Qin Yu had fully restored himself in three days, and this was completely unbelievable.

Qin Yu returned to the Pill Disposal Department. News of this quickly spread through Immortal Eclipse Valley and immediately created a great disturbance. Countless cultivators sighed. Junior Uncle was truly Junior Uncle; he was so strong that no one could compare!

But soon, their attention was drawn away by another matter. This was because heavenly tribulation...had returned! The only reason they said it had ‘returned’ was because it occurred above the Pill Disposal Department and was completely similar to the heavenly tribulation that appeared the last time.

Junior Uncle, Junior Granduncle, just what are you doing? After a moment, the tribulation cloud vanished from sight once more. Many people watched with wide eyes, not sure what to say.

But the most powerful ability in the world was habit. Even if it were something like heavenly tribulation, if it appeared every now and then, even the cultivators in Immortal Eclipse Valley would remain calm. At most they would look at the Pill Disposal Department and say, “Oh, Junior Uncle (or Junior Granduncle), has returned.”

Hu –

Strong winds rose up.

Hu –

Black clouds gathered.

Shua –

A strong pressure arrived.

An alchemist was refining pills at this time, and a sudden shake in his hand nearly caused the entire furnace of good pills to be wasted. Luckily, he steadied his mind and was able to mix in the materials accurately. Now, all he needed to do was to wait for the pills to come out and collect them. He then turned and asked, “Hey, how many times has it been already?”

“The first month it was three times, the second month it was two times, and last month one time, for a total of six times.” Another alchemist helplessly said.

The last month while he was refining pills, during a critical refining process he had encountered the aura of heavenly tribulation and it nearly caused his furnace to explode.

And of course, he had failed in the end.

Because of these six heavenly tribulations, there were now many more ruined materials than in normal times. When anyone was refining precious pills, they always chose to start after Junior Uncle crossed tribulation...perhaps calling it crossing tribulation was a bit inappropriate, but in the end that was the approximate meaning and they just needed to understand what it meant.

“Six heavenly tribulations! Hehe, I really wonder just how Junior Uncle has continued keeping this up.”

“Heh, I heard some people have already started a betting market. The highest bet was ten times!”

“I know. And I also made a bet. It’s just that I didn’t dare make such a fierce bet on ten times, but chose eight times instead.”

“I bet on nine times!”

“It looks like everyone is confident in Junior Uncle!”

“What nonsense, it’s Junior Uncle we’re talking about!”

...

Another two months later, there was the seventh heavenly tribulation.

...

Another five months later, there was the eighth heavenly tribulation.

...

Another seven months later, there was the ninth heavenly tribulation.

...

Another year later, there was the tenth heavenly tribulation.

After that, there were no more. Qin Yu was lying on a bed, completely wrapped in bandages and facing the tearful Gu Ling’er. He couldn’t help but promise that he wouldn’t cross tribulation anymore.

Jiang Li’s eyes shined with a bright light. He was incomparably surprised that Qin Yu was able to live with such serious wounds.

These injuries lasted for over half a year, and it was only then that he barely managed to recover. But after that, he was given the nickname of Undying Cockroach.

To put it in Daoist Wang’s words, this brat was simply a monster in human skin!

It was said that the cultivator who bet on ten times was thereafter called the Gambling God, and his purse was filled up.

His gratitude towards Junior Uncle Qin Yu was simply like an endless river flowing off into eternity.